Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (a.s.), who was born
in the House of Allah -Ka’ba- and was martyred in the House of Allah-Masjid-e
Kufa, raised by the Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.) and subsequently became “Nafse
Rasool”, who saw the Divine Revelation, heard the cry of Shaitan and smelled
the scent of Prophet (showing closeness), who was declared “The Gateway of
Knowledge” by the Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.), had thrown light on the “Praise of Allah, His
Oneness and Divine Essence” which no one had explained before him. Imam
Ali (a.s.) said, “He (s.a.w.a.s.) transferred a thousand chapters
of knowledge and everyone of which opened for me one thousand other chapters.”
Imam Ali (a.s.) further said, “Even if the Divine Curtains are
removed, there will not be any change in my faith.” Imam Ali (a.s.) had
discussed at length about the subject in various sermons in the famous book;
Nahjul Balagha, some of them are collected below:
“The foremost duty in religion is the acknowledgment of Him;
the perfection of acknowledging Him is to bear witness to Him; the perfection
of bearing witness to Him is to believe in His Oneness; the perfection of
believing in His Oneness is to regard Him as pure; and the perfection of
regarding Him as pure is to deny Him attributes, because every attribute is a
proof that it is different from that to which it is attributed. Thus, whoever
attempts a description of Allah, creates His like; and whoever creates His
like, regards Him as two. Whoever said, “In what is He? “held that He is
confined; and whoever said, “On what is He?” held He is not on something else. He
is a being, but not through the phenomenon of coming into existence. He exists,
but not coming out of non-existence. He is near to everything, but not in
physical proximity. He is distinct from everything, but not separated by
distance. He acts, but without the need of movement or need of instruments.
(Sermon 1)
Allah speaks, but without the need of a tongue. He hears,
but without the need of ears or listening aids. He remembers but does not need to memorize. He
determines, but without the need of mental faculties. He loves but without
suffering sentimentally. He entertains dislikes and gets angry without
experiencing emotion or pain. He joins diverse things and separates things
that are joined together. He is not confined by any limits of time and space.
He is far beyond the sight of the seers. He brought into existence His creation
without following any example and He did not need any assistance. He created
earth and suspended it without effort. He fixed mountains on it like pegs,
caused streams to flow. He is too exalted to have son. He is too sublime to
have consorts. Human imagination, perception, and senses cannot reach His
Essence. Passage of nights and days do not cause Him to age. Light and darkness
does not affect Him. He will end the earth, as it presently exists, so that
everything on it will become non-existent. Surely after the end of the world,
Allah, the Glorified will remain alone with nothing else except Him. Time,
periods, places and intervals would cease to exist. The long duration of
earth’s existence does not make Him weary. He has nurtured it with His
kindness, kept it intact with His command, and perfected it with His power.
After its destruction, He will resurrect it, but not because He needed it, nor
to attain any honor or power. (Sermon
185)
I stand witness that there is no god but God; He is One,
and He has no partner; He is the First, such that nothing existed before Him;
He is the Last (Eternal), such that there is no End to His existence. Division
or splitting into parts of His entity is not possible. Hearts cannot comprehend
His nature. Eyes cannot envision Him. (Sermon 84)
His forbearance is vast, so that He forgives, and He is just
in His decisions. He has the knowledge of the present and the past. He designed
the creation with knowledge and brought it into existence with His unlimited
capacity. (Sermon 190)”
Source:
Peak of Eloquence – Nahjul Balagha Presentation by Dr. Syed H. Akhtar, Austin Texas
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